Ann Romney's task: Humanize Mitt

TAMPA, Fla. — Ann Romney will take to the podium here Tuesday night and try to accomplish what the sharpest minds in Republican politics have failed to do: present her stiff and awkward husband as a likable guy.

Her speech is considered second in importance only to Mitt Romney’s and will set the tone for the week as the Republican Party presents its case for turning President Barack Obama out of office.

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Convention and campaign officials see Ann Romney as the only person who can credibly change the image of the former Massachusetts governor from remote rich guy to that of a man of warmth and character.

“She will step back from her stump speech and outline the tenets of Mitt Romney’s life,” said Katie Packer Gage, deputy campaign manager.

“It will be a bigger, broader speech that will go back to Mitt’s earlier life, the values his parents gave him, his life as a successful businessman, as head of the Olympics, as governor, as a father and husband.’”

And Ann Romney is expected to get a dramatic assist: the Romney campaign confirmed Monday night that the candidate will travel to Tampa on Tuesday, though officials coyly would not say why or whether he just might stroll onto the stage after his wife speaks during prime time to energize the convention.

If there has been a recurring mantra from GOP message-makers during this convention so far, it is that Romney’s low likability is of little consequence in an election cycle in which voters are looking for competence and leadership. But there is also an awareness among Republicans that no matter how hard they try to present Romney as “uniquely qualified” to lead the country, polls show that voters see him as out of touch with the middle class and unable to relate the everyday challenges life presents.

And so Ann Romney will also strive to show that her family, like many others, has had its share of burdens and crises to shoulder.

“You will learn that the Romney family is not that different from other families when it comes to dealing with personal challenges and medical crises,” says Eric Fehrnstrom, Romney’s closest adviser and confidant. “Ann has a saying: ‘Everyone has his or her own bag of rocks to carry.’ In the case of the Romney family, it has been her diagnosis with multiple sclerosis and later her cancer scare.

“To the extent people want to know a more personal side of Mitt Romney, Ann Romney will be that messenger,” Fehrnstrom said.

Friends, family and aides said Ann Romney has been holding up well under the stress of the campaign. But there have been some indications that it has been a struggle. She recently acknowledged that she had an MS flare-up last spring, which she attributed to exhaustion. A family member said she didn’t share it with her husband or five sons.